Universities and higher education in Brazil

Brazil adopts a mixed system of public and private funded universities. Public universities can be federally funded or financed by State governments (such as USP, Unicamp and Unesp in the State of São Paulo). Private schools can be for-profit or (in the case of Catholic universities), not-for-profit.

The Portuguese reserved the status of "university" to the University of Coimbra and so, never created schools with that designation in Brazil. Nevertheless, they created several higher and secondary learning schools which provided a level of education comparable or even above to that of the institutions denominated "universities" established in some of the neighbor Spanish American colonies as early as the 17th century. Examples were the most important Jesuit colleges in Portuguese colonial Brazil, particularly those located in the cities of Salvador and Rio de Janeiro, which - despite not being designated "universities" - offered liberal arts courses in Latin, Greek, philosophy and theology, likewise the Spanish American universities. Upon graduating, students had the option of either becoming priests or continuing their studies in Europe, usually at the University of Coimbra in Portugal.

After the expulsion of the Jesuits from Portugal in 1759, other religious orders such as the Benedictines and Carmelites were charged with education in Brazil. At the same time, the Portuguese Crown founded the "aulas-régias" (Royal public schools). In 1792, the Royal Academy of Artillery, Fortification and Drawing was founded in Rio de Janeiro, this being the first higher learning school of engineering in the Americas.

Following the arrival of King John VI of Portugal and the Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil, other schools of higher learning were founded in Brazil, although continuing to not formally be called "universities". These including those specialized in civil and military engineering such as the Royal Academy of the Midshipmen (1808) and the Royal Military Academy (1810). Two medical schools were also established, these being the medical-chirurgical academies of Salvador (1808) and of Rio de Janeiro (1809). In addition, other technical courses in the fields of botany, chemistry, geology, mineralogy, and economy were created.

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